cut cover, take that test!

i dreamed you dreamed of me calling out my name. is it worth the price? ( dependent callum baker for asphyxiahq. )

[vivienvalentino]

— BEFORE SUNRISE 1995, dir. Richard Linklater

[hclflcght]

@pcthstrayed

[hclflcght]

ofisolaticn‌:

“i’m not moping.” [narrator vc] he was moping. it was what happened when you realize the last six months of your life have been bullshit and you don’t quite have that pick-me-up just yet. when you were holding onto the last bits of your sanity all while saying ‘i’m okay’ on the constant. so yes, he was moping. 

    “  okay.  ”  he  knows  there’s  something  to  be  said  for  customer  service  being  personal.  he  finds  the  product  that  serves  everyone’s  personal  needs.  from  routers  to  tray  tables  to  xboxes  (  which,  again,  he’s  been  told  he  still  needs  to  sell  enthusiastically  ),  he’s  supposed  to  know  his  stuff.  and  to  an  extent,  he  does.  it’s  this  -  the  personal  therapy  approach  some  customers  come  searching  for  he  feels  at  a  loss  with.  “  i  was  just  wondering  if  you  wanted  help.  ”  he  gestures  to  around  them,  hovers  over  the  pc  section  of  the  store  because  it’s  the  one  he’s  come  to  know  the  best.  “  you  just  --  you’ve  just  been  standing  here  for  like  ten  minutes.  ”

[rachelsgreen]

[hclflcght]

@pcthstrayed​

[pcthstrayed]

tagging: arlo park & callum baker.  (  & @hclflcght​  ) location: the park house timeline: before arlo’s bodyswapping misadventures  (  season one of apx  ) summary:  the bisexual crisis ends.  arlo and callum talk about their feelings, decisions are made, and it’s the start of something new — terrifying — and wonderful.

Keep reading

[hclflcght]

    (  brandon flynn,  21,  he/him )   welcome to san francisco, CALLUM BAKER. rumor has it they are a RESURRECTED CRESCENT WOLF, but only they could tell you the truth! when i close my eyes, i think of them and imagine MESSY SHORT HAIR, QUESTIONS ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AND FINDING HOME.

    so,  if  you  want  to  read  through  callum’s  og  intro  with  all  of  his  backstory,  you  can  find  that  here.  the  tl;dr  didn’t  read  being  he’s  an  ancient,  resurrected  crescent  wolf  suffering  from  a  rare  form  of  lunar  psychosis  (  the  split  between  the  human  and  animal  minds  that  can  occur  from  trauma  but  in  this  case,  was  a  condition  he’s  had  from  birth  )  and  was  hospitalised  upon  his  return  from  the  dead  for  saying  i  lived  in  ancient  greek  times  and  now  i’m  here.  he’s  the  mythical  hero theseus’  twin  brother.   update  april  2020:

when  he  got  out  of  the  hospital,  he  was  initially  living  with  amber.  she  was  a  student  nurse  at  the  hospital  he  was  taken  into  that  then  became  his  full  time  carer.  he  took  up  a  job  at  a  local  tech  store  that  he  holds  to  this  day.

this  was  fine,  until  she  started  taking  unexpected  and  unexplained  leaves  of  absence  from  their  apartment  and  his  life.  the  time  she  was  there  was  brief,  and  was  met  with  conflicting  incidents  of  aggression  and  tenderness.  

he  met  arlo  park  along  the  way  and  the  two  quickly  became  friends.  callum  appreciated  the  fact  he  was  an  open  book  in  the  period  where  he  felt  as  though  nothing  was  certain  and  arlo’s  honesty  is  something  he  still  comes  to  value.  

during  this  time,  and  between  ambers  unexplained  disappearances,  he  got  himself  into  some  hot  water.  at  the  height  of  what  he  believed  to  be  his  mental  illness  spurring  hallucinations  of  the  supernatural,  he  saw  maya  marceli  shift  from  a  tiger  into  a  woman  before  his  eyes.  due  to  believing  she  couldn’t  be  real,  he  picked  up  a  rock  and  killed  her.  he  quickly  came  to  realise  she  was,  in  fact,  real  and  called  arlo  in  a  frantic  rush  for  help.  arlo  buried  the  body  and  told  him  that  not  only  had  he  killed  someone,  but  that  he’d  triggered  his  werewolf  curse.  it  was  a  shock,  yes,  and  the  source  of  a  lot  of  trauma  he  hasn’t  dealt  with  but  it  also  confirmed  what  he  once  thought  to  be  true.  everything  he  thought,  all  of  his  memories,  were  true.  the  recognition  helped  piece  his  fractured  brain  together  a  little  more,  while  also  putting  him  into  somewhat  of  an  identity  crisis.  he  didn’t  feel  like  cladeus  anymore,  didn’t  connect  to  his  old  life,  but  he  also  didn’t  entirely  connect  to  callum  either.  it’s  a  learning  curve  he’s  still  wavering. 

this  revelation,  however,  coupled  with  amber’s  frequent  disappearances  have  really  weakened  his  relationship  with  her.  he  suffered  needlessly  and  extensively,  even  went  as  far  as  murdering  someone  (  it  still  haunts  him  a  great  deal  more  than  he’ll  admit  ),  and  she  could  have  prevented  all  of  it.  she  simply,  in  his  eyes,  chose  not  to.  he’s  not  entirely  sure  that’s  a  forgivable  offence.  this,  among  the  rest  of  the  chaos  in  his  mind,  forced  him  to  pack  up  his  stuff  and  leave.  he  had  to  pick  where  to  go  after  that  and  he  simply  decided  to  move  into  arlo  park’s  home  full  time.

they  started  off  as  fast  friends  and  then  slowly  but  surely  became  more.  he’s  not  sure  they’re  boyfriends,  exactly,  but  they  have  the  feelings  conversation  and  established  it  is  very  mutual.  so,  honestly,  he’s  okay  with  it.  he  also  moved  in  with  him  over  the  course  of  the  whole  ordeal  and  he’s  never  really  left  his  side.  his  mother  is  under  the  impression  they’re  still  best  friends,  but  he’s  okay  with  that.  if  only  to  ensure  he  doesn’t  have  to  sleep  in  the  guest  room.

[ravenclairee]

[humorblr]

[hclflcght]

filmtv‌:

Parks and Recreation (2009-2015)

[juliawvicker]

Have you cried yet? For Eliot? Fen, I’m only gonna say this once. Me joining your sad face therapy party is dumb.

[hclflcght]

    “  but  i  was  told  it  was  garbage.  ”  he’s  listening  to  a  lecture  on  how  he  can’t  just  call  the  merchandise  garbage  because  his  boyfriend  prefers  playstation  to  xbox.  (  it  wasn’t  a  preference,  he’s  expressed,  it  was  fact.  his  manager  had  not  been  swayed.  )  he  gets  away  with  a  pat  on  the  back  and  a  lesson  learnt,  walking  back  to  the  register  with  a  newly  informed  view  on  microsoft  gaming.  (  he  doesn’t  believe  it,  but  at  least  he’s  not  ignorant.  )  “  hi.  ”  no  time  like  the  present  to  put  that  into  practice.  

[hclflcght]

hybrldqueen‌:

@apxstarters​

     YOU  CAN’T  JUST  PUNCH  PEOPLE  IN  THE  FACE,  she thinks with a sigh. it’s tempting but she restrains herself and instead looks toward the approaching figure. “here’s my date now.” hayley doesn’t look at the figure that had been bothering her but rather at the figure that had approached, a pleading look in her eyes.  HELP  ME  BEFORE  I  KILL THEM. gritted teeth come into focus as she smiles.

    he’s  picking  up  an  order,   thought  it  would  be  nice  to  surprise  arlo  and  his  mother  for  once.  (  his  mother  who  is  still  under  the  impression  he’s  a  friend.  )  he’s  gotten  enough  for  four  people,  just  in  case  someone  wants  a  second  helping  or  arlo’s  interesting  cousin  shows  up.  (  he  thinks  she’s  cool,  but  he’s  also  scared  of  her.  she  commands  every  room  and  he  thinks  she  could  make  him  dance  like  a  monkey  if  she  really  wanted  to.  which  he  also  has  yet  to  rule  out.  )  he’s  waiting  for  the  order,  approaching  the  counter  to  ask  just  how  long  it’s  really  been,  when  he  sees  her  genuine  distress.  he  believes  this  is  one  of  those  yikes  moments  arlo  talks  about.  he  pulls  on  the  jacket  he  was  previously  holding,  hopes  to  look  a  little  more  date  material,  before  he  crosses  over  to  the  woman.  “  hey,  honey.  ”  his  smile  doesn’t  look  as  forced,  knows  it  can’t,  and  so  he  turns  to  the  perpetrator  instead.  “  are  you  bothering  my  fiance?  ”  oops.   that  got  a  little  out  of  hand. 

[hclflcght]

bxnnie-bennett‌:

Bonnie had been in town all but a few months, all the while successfully managing to keep to herself as she studied the city. The witch had put all her spare time into studying the space where the barrier once was, she wanted no she needed to know why it still held such power over certain residents. Maybe she genuinely wanted to help, or perhaps it was but another project to keep her mind from the pain of her past that she continued to run from.

It was late at night when she had found herself wandering the city streets, her insomnia getting the better of her once again. It was a loosing battle, but one she would fight to the end nonetheless.She had tried sleeping pills, drinking herself into oblivion, but somehow, someway the nightmares always crept back in like a shadow she couldn’t seem to shake. Hands dug deep into the pockets of her jacket in search of warmth, face partially hidden from the hood of her jacket save from a few brown tendrils that had managed to escape as she walked. Only she hadn’t been alone, and as footsteps approached her gaze lifted from the street to steal a glance in the other’s direction. “Little late for a night stroll don’t you think — either you’re feeling brave or incredibly stupid. So which one is it?” Or perhaps it was her that was the latter, either way they were about to find out. @apxstarters​

    to  his  credit,  he  isn’t  wondering  aimlessly.  he’s  trying  to  get  a  decent  signal  on  his  dying  (  yes,  he  works  in  a  tech  shop  and  yes,  it’s  unacceptable  )  phone.  it’s  late,  he  isn’t  going  to  get  into  some  stranger’s  car  for  a  ride  home.  he’s  going  to  do  the  mature,  responsible  thing.  call  his  boyfriend  and  beg  him  to  pick  him  up.  obviously.  he’s  holding  his  phone  close  (  the  last  thing  he  needs  is  his  ride  and  his  dignity  stolen  ),  eyes  darting  up  every  few  moments.  “  uhhh --  ”  bad  start,  but  he’s  caught  off  guard.  he  caught  her  glance  but  didn’t  think  momentary  eye  contact  was  enough  to  strike  up  a  conversation.  “  stupid.  ”  that’s  the  correct  answer,  he  can  only  assume.  the  brave  race  into  battle  headfirst,  driving  impressions  of  their  own  righteousness  into  their  own  undoings.  (  he’s  been  reading  greek  literature  again  ;  memories  come  back  sporadically,  but  it’s  almost  like  riding  a  bike.  )  the  stupid  don’t  do  anything  but  end  up  in  the  wrong  place  at  the  wrong  time.  (  he’s  never  been  one  of  the  brave.  )  “  i’m  walking  back  to  my  place.  ”  telling  this  stranger  he  lives  around  here  definitely  follows the  logic  of  his  answer.  

[hclflcght]

ofexplcsicns‌:

alyssa rolled her eyes, she was t i r e d of waiting, this was s t u p i d. “ you know if we just s t a n d  h e r e.. we’ll never know what they know, right? we kind of need that i n f o r m a t i o n.. so, i don’t know about y o u but i’m not going to sit idly by.” the witch said, pushing from her l e a n i n g stance against the wall.  @apxstarters​ 

    it’s  not  any  of  his  business.  he  knows  that,  knows  that  he  should  probably  keep  out  of  covert  information  crackdowns.  (  naturally,  he  doesn’t,  but  let  the  record  show  he  tried.  )  “  i  wouldn’t  do  that  if  i  were  you.  ”  he  pipes  up  from  what  feels  like  the  back  of  a  large  crowd,  or  perhaps  that’s  just  his  skewed  perception  of  the  space  he  takes  up  in  every  room,  and  tries  to  hold  his  ground.  “  what  if  they  lie?  ”  everyone  lies.  he’s  learnt  that  more  than  once.  

[alishasboe]

ENDLESS GIFS of jessica davis & justin foley [21/∞]

[hclflcght]

X : XOXO. does your muse use / like pet names?

    they’re honestly his favourite thing.  call him sweetheart,  honey,  loveable idiot,  any variation of his name,  and he will be putty in your hands.  pet names weren’t really a thing in ancient greece so now he’s monopolising on every one possible.  bonus points if it comes from amber or arlo.  (  but honestly,  a total stranger could call him handsome and he’d still melt in two.  ) 

[hclflcght]

painsabandon‌:

“  —–  this is SO STUPID. ” petulant child mode: unlocked. “ why is no one applying for my assistant position? there are so many benefits. ugh, people don’t know what they’re missing out on. ”

    “ what are the benefits? ”  considering a job offer from a woman he doesn’t know when he already has a job is probably the way disasters happen.  (  where was that internal alarm system now?  )  but he figured even if he didn’t end up a candidate,  perhaps it would do her state some good to talk about it.  (  he can think of a few situations that could’ve been avoided by way of simple communication at least.  )  

[hclflcght]

pcthstrayed‌:

AMBER

there was an endless sea of dread within the pit of her stomach  ,  almost like it was JUDGEMENT day and she was unprepared  .  having to face up to her disappearance  ,  to leaving those she cared about in the lurch  .  spending more time in her wolf form  ,  she could evade her worries  ,  she could settle in the calm that things were as simple as eating and sleeping  .  but being human  ,  that was so much more complicated  .  she had to face everything  ,  and she wasn’t sure she was READY for that ?  being a wolf  ,  she was able to ignore the memories just a little bit longer  ,  the memories of her dad torturing her  ,  of the eyes of a man who was supposed to love her inflicting pain  .  of seeing him again  .  it had shaken her so badly  .  but now she couldn’t hide anymore  ,  despite her wanting to so much  .  

hands are quivering as her hand reaches up to push her keys into the door  ,  she’s taking a deep breath  ,  trying to calm the quake of the chaos in her lungs  .  it was so SUFFOCATING  .  she’s pushing the door open and stepping inside  ,  chocolates scanning the vicinity of her apartment  .  it was looking LIVED in which was a good sign  ,  she decided  .  keys are discarded upon the counter before amber’s heading to her bedroom  ,  ready to grab a change of clothes  ,  she’d thrown on a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt she’d stashed for turning  .  but she needed to feel fresh  ,  to feel CLEAN  —–  maybe from her sins too  ,  not just literally  .  eyes fall upon the figure in her bed  ,  first she realises it’s callum  .  and her heart full of panic settles  ,  but as she walks closer  —-  she notices the second figure  ,  a man she doesn’t recognise  ,  and she’s stepping backwards  .  “  okay … i’m NOT one to be pissed off about someone staying in my bed , but i didn’t realise that included bed buddies i don’t know TOO  .  ”  maybe there’s a slight bit of bitter jealousy filling her veins  ,  an awful coldness  —-  MAYBE part of her is realising how much she’s missed being g o n e .   {  @hclflcght​  /  @pcthstrayed​  }

      to  put  it  simply,  the  last  few  weeks  have  been  difficult.   between  meeting  (  and  subsequently  killing  )  an  alternate  universe  version  of  himself,  the  barrier  finally  coming  down,  and  an  original  vampire  running  off  with  his  body,  it’s  safe  to  say;   he’s  been  having  a  week.    that’s  before  you  factor  in  the  emotional  hurdles  he’s  been  leaping  lately,  limited  to  but  not  including  coming  to  terms  with  the  darkness  he  possesses  (  and  the  lengths  he’ll  go  to  protect  the  people  he  loves  )  and  the  feelings  he’s  been  trying  to  make  sense  of   for  the  man  curled  up  beside  him.    saying  the  words  out  loud  had  helped,  had  made  things  make  a  bit  more  sense,  but  it  was  still  a  lot  to   contend  with  on  any  given  day.    it’s  why  he’s  happy  to  spend  the  night  inside,  watching  reruns  of  some  house  flipping  show  on  HGTV  and  eating  chinese  takeaway.   it’s  nice.   really  nice.    up  until  the  moment  the  door  slams  open,  startling  him  upright  until  he  realizes  it’s  just  amber.

      “  —  it’s  me. ”    it  takes  him  a  minute,  eyes  widening  when  he  realizes  how  this  looks.     “  shit,  i’m  so  –   it’s  arlo.   long  story. ”     there’s  no  easy  way  to  say;  so  my  best  friend  got  in  bed  with  an  original  vampire  who  decided  to  take  my  body  for  a  joyride  like  it’s  a  brand  spanking  new  maserati,  without  sounding  like  an  absolute  looney  toon.    if  he  wasn’t  a  witch,  didn’t  know  about  things  like  body  swap  spells,  and  possession,  he’d  probably  think  he  was   L O S I N G  his  mind.      “  i’m  stuck  in  here  for  awhile.    at  least  until  we  can  track  down  the  guy  who  snatched  my  body  and  yeeted  out  of  town. ”      he   scowls  at  the  thought.   yeah,  he’s  still  bitter.     he  sits  up  a  little,  suddenly  feeling  like  a  fish  out  of  water.    though  it’s  been  a  few  weeks  since  he’s  seen  amber,  that  fluttery  feeling  in  his  chest  never  faded  away.    at  first  he’d  been  confused,  unsure  how  he  could  feel  so  strongly  for  two  different  people,  but  the  more  time  he  let  it  sit  with  him  the  more  he  started  to  understand  it.    he  thinks  he  gets  it.    or  at  least,  it  doesn’t  give  him  night  sweats  anymore.   (  progress.   he’ll  call  that  progress.  )      “  —   lo  mein  ?  ”         he  senses  some  tension  between  them,  though  he  isn’t  sure  exactly  what,   but  there’s  never  been  a  PROBLEM  in  his  life  that  a  good  snack  couldn’t  solve.      @hclflcght​

    he’d lost count of how long it’d been since he saw amber.  after everything he’s done,  and seen,  and knows,  she was just gone.  without warning and without reason.  he’d been torn apart by anxiety at first,  frenzied searching for traces of her in their apartment.  in the city they’d both come to call home.  he’d tried her work,  her office,  her favourite places.  she was simply gone.  and then,  a mere few days later,  he was gone too.  callum baker and cladeus had started to fade together.  the memories they had called episodes of psychosis induced by trauma were real.  he had seen everything centuries ago,  he had walked on four legs.  he couldn’t be angry at the doctors who knew no better  (  he had believed them,  after all  ).  but what he couldn’t understand was how amber could lead him to believe he was wrong all along.  he’s resentful,  but he’s been good at not letting it get the best of him in her absence.   he does miss her,  even if he can’t understand her.  (  arlo’s been helping,  especially with his recent change.  it’s nice to know someone has a story as that sounds as crazy as yours.  )       and then,  out of nowhere,  she breezed back into their lives.  (  the resentment shows itself ten fold.  )  pushing himself upright next to arlo,  stalled in every way.  “ he’s telling the truth. ”  he doesn’t want to scramble for the first thing he’s going to say to her,  so he goes with the obvious choice.  “ he can prove it.  it’s temporary. ”  he sounds colder than he’s used to,  colder than he’d like.  “ but i guess you know all about what yeeting out of town is like. ”  as bitter as it sounds  (  and as it is  ),  he’s at least proud he managed to use the word correctly.  (  modern english,  apparently,  is far more expansive than the greek that’s started to come back to him in waves.  )  he’s going to make this even more awkward for all three of them,  and he just doesn’t care.  “ hey,  amber. ”     @clawedtrauma​

[hclflcght]

pcthstrayed‌:

       at  first  he  thinks  he  might  be  in  shock.   he’s  oddly  calm  as  he  washes  the  blood  from  his  hands  in  the  shower,  rivers  of  red  running  down  the  drain.   the  other  him  is  buried  in  the  garden  between  the  azaleas  and  a  rose  bush,  a  grave  dug  as  quickly  as  he  could  manage.   he  doesn’t  know  what  to  make  of  it,  or  what  future  ramifications  killing  one’s  future  or  alternate  self  might  bring,  but  he’s  trying  not  to  fixate  on  it.   in  a  way,  maybe  he  is  fine.   maybe  this  was  the  insight  he  needed,  a  ‘what  if’  chapter  in  his  life  finally  closed.   he  knows  now  that  he  made  the  right  choices,  that  he’s  exactly  where  he  needs  to  be.    or  at  least,  he  will  be.

       he’s  been  denying  things  for  awhile  now,  unsure  what  the  revelations  would  mean  for  him.  sex  with  his  best  friend  hadn’t  been  enough  to  connect  the  dots,  but  knowing  he  was  about  to  die  and  he  wouldn’t  have  a  chance  to  say  goodbye   ?     that  had  left  a  hollow  feeling  in  his  chest.   his  mother,  penelope,  amber,  even  bradley  –  they  knew  where  he  stood,  knew  how  he  felt  about  them.   he’d  said  it,  or  showed  it  when  words  failed.   but  with  callum  —  had  he  been  honest  ?   truthful  ?   he’d  never  lied,  not  directly,  but  a  lie  of   omission  is  still  a  lie  even  if  it’s  one  you’ve  been  feeding  yourself.   his  feelings  for  callum  aren’t  platonic.     he  knows  this,  has  been  fighting  it  for  awhile  now  because  he  was  afraid  of  what  it  meant.    (  he’s  not  afraid  anymore.  )    so  he  texts  him,  asks  him  to  come  over,   and  sits  at  the  kitchen  table  and  waits.   @hclflcght​

    he can’t really control his internal alarm system.  it sets off at just about everything.  cats running across the street,  the creaking of the floorboards of his apartment,  the fact the soda he’s drinking tastes a little odd.  therefore,  when arlo asks him to come over with no preamble and no explanation,  it goes off.  his first thought is to wonder whether this is like when he called arlo,  no preamble and no explanation.  he imagines arlo standing over a body,  cold and bloody,  and he imagines the murder weapon he’d bury in the leaves.  the girl looks like maya,  the weapon looks like a rock.  he’s projecting.   his second thought is less catastrophic,  less illegal,  but still haunting.  he imagines arlo telling him,  with a cold and loveless expression,  that he’s simply expended his use.  (  it frightens him more than the image of arlo standing in a pool of crimson,  perhaps because it’s baseless.  sudden.  )  when he arrives  (  he’d gotten there on foot,  still not entirely confident in his ability to drive  ),  he feels panic again.       it doesn’t look like arlo’s house.  usually buzzing with activity,  comfort.  instead,  it simply looks quiet.  (  something isn’t right.  )  he walks up to the steps anyway,  knows that he could never be anything but safe in arlo’s presence,  and chooses to peer through the windows instead of knocking on the door.  (  you know,  like a creep.  )  he issues three swift knocks,  probably quite close to morse code,  on the window.  (  because apparently,  doors make no sense anymore.  )